Z Gallerie is an American chain of home furnishing, art and decor retail stores founded by siblings Joe Zeiden, Mike Zeiden, and Carole Malfatti in

Sherman Oaks, California Sherman Oaks is a neighborhood in the city of Los Angeles, California located in the San Fernando Valley, founded in 1927. The neighborhood includes a portion of the Santa Monica Mountains, which gives Sherman Oaks a lower population density than ...

in 1979. The operation began as a small poster shop and started opening combined retail locations in 1982. The retailer was acquired by

Brentwood Associates Brentwood Associates is a private equity firm in the US with groups focusing on leveraged buyout. The firm, which is based in Los Angeles, was founded in 1972. Their most recent fund was a $1.15bn fund raised in 2017. The venture capital group ...

Private Equity V LP in 2014. Z Gallerie is headquartered in

Los Angeles, California Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

with an additional buying office in

Berkeley, California Berkeley ( ) is a city on the eastern shore of San Francisco Bay in northern Alameda County, California, United States. It is named after the 18th-century Irish bishop and philosopher George Berkeley. It borders the cities of Oakland and Emer ...

. As of July 2019, the company is owned by DirectBuy.

History

In 1979, three siblings, Joe Zeiden, Carole Malfatti and Mike Zeiden opened a small poster shop in

. Together, they operated the store during the day and framed posters at night in their parents garage in

Van Nuys, California Van Nuys () is a neighborhood in the central San Fernando Valley region of Los Angeles, California. Home to Van Nuys Airport and the Valley Municipal Building, it is the most populous neighborhood in the San Fernando Valley. History In 1909, ...

. They moved their production poster company out of their childhood home and into an actual warehouse and before long, the young siblings had a number of locations across

. They began to conceptualize stores that carried more than just poster art. Their vision was to create a collection of fashion-forward and exclusive home furnishings, art and accessories at an affordable price. In 1982, the company diversified into

home furnishings Furniture refers to movable objects intended to support various human activities such as seating (e.g., stools, chairs, and sofas), eating (tables), storing items, eating and/or working with an item, and sleeping (e.g., beds and hammocks). Fu ...

with the opening of its "Metro Dezign" store in

Santa Monica, California Santa Monica (; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Santa Mónica'') is a city in Los Angeles County, California, Los Angeles County, situated along Santa Monica Bay on California's South Coast (California), South Coast. Santa Monica's 2020 United Sta ...

. In June 1983 they combined their two stores under one roof and opened its first combination store, which included art, home furnishing and home accessories in

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

. On April 10, 2009, the 54-store chain filed for Chapter 11

bankruptcy Bankruptcy is a legal process through which people or other entities who cannot repay debts to creditors may seek relief from some or all of their debts. In most jurisdictions, bankruptcy is imposed by a court order, often initiated by the debtor ...

. On October 27, 2009, the retailer announced they had emerged from Chapter 11

with a $22 million financing package from

Wells Fargo Wells Fargo & Company is an American multinational financial services company with corporate headquarters in San Francisco, California; operational headquarters in Manhattan; and managerial offices throughout the United States and intern ...

Business Credit. On October 14, 2014, it was announced that

Private Equity V LP acquired a majority stake in the retailer. On March 11, 2019, Z Gallerie announced that it has filed voluntary petitions to restructure under Chapter 11 of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code in the United States Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware. On July 1, 2019, it was announced that DirectBuy acquired Z Gallerie's assets through a

auction for $20.3 million. The acquisition included the retailer's

headquarters Headquarters (commonly referred to as HQ) denotes the location where most, if not all, of the important functions of an organization are coordinated. In the United States, the corporate headquarters represents the entity at the center or the to ...

Gardena, California Gardena is a city located in the South Bay (Los Angeles County), South Bay region of Los Angeles County, California, Los Angeles County, California, United States. The population was 58,829 at the 2010 census, up from 57,746 at the 2000 census. ...

and at least 32 stores. It was also announced that 17 locations would be closed with more closures being planned. As of October 2022, the company had 25 stores remaining in operation, with just three states -- California, Florida and Texas -- accounting for half of all these locations.

Anti-dumping

In early 2014, the

Department of Justice A justice ministry, ministry of justice, or department of justice is a ministry or other government agency in charge of the administration of justice. The ministry or department is often headed by a minister of justice (minister for justice in a v ...

launched an investigation into a number of wooden bedroom furniture manufacturers who imported goods from China and the retailers to whom the furniture was sold. As part of the investigation, the Department of Justice claimed that Z Gallerie and its suppliers mislabeled products they were importing into the United States in order to avoid

customs duties A tariff is a tax imposed by the government of a country or by a supranational union on imports or exports of goods. Besides being a source of revenue for the government, import duties can also be a form of regulation of foreign trade and poli ...

. In 2016, Z Gallerie agreed to pay $15 million to settle the allegations.

Charitable causes

Z Gallerie contributed a portion of sales to organizations during many of its grand openings and special events. Z Gallerie partnered with the Pancreatic Cancer Action Network in 2002. Between November 2 to November 4, 2012, it donated 10% of sales and $5 of each purchase of its aubergine Esque candle. In October 2014, it donated 10% of all sales for its location in The Mall at University Town Center. Between November 14 to November 16, 2014 it donated 10% of all sales from the Z Gallerie card. It also donated 10% of all sales during its grand openings of its Carlsbad location in February 2004, its Watters Creek location in May 2013, its Village Meridian location in June 2014, and its

Oakbrook Center Oakbrook Center is a shopping center located near Interstate 88 and Route 83 in Oak Brook, Illinois. It was originally opened in 1962. It is the second largest shopping center in the Chicago metropolitan area by gross leasable area, only surp ...

in August 2014 to the

American Diabetes Association The American Diabetes Association (ADA) is a United States-based nonprofit that seeks to educate the public about diabetes and to help those affected by it through funding research to manage, cure and prevent diabetes (including type 1 diabetes, ...

References

External links

* {{Official, https://www.zgallerie.com Furniture retailers of the United States Companies based in Los Angeles Retail companies established in 1979 American companies established in 1979 1979 establishments in California Companies that filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 2009 Companies that filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 2019

History

Anti-dumping

Charitable causes

See also

References

External links